


fumbling towards comfort

by aeriamamaduck



Series: The Next Level of Life and Love [17]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Anxiety, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Dates, Blood and Injury, Communication, Cute, Domestic Fluff, Established Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Established Relationship, Exhaustion, Fluff and Humor, Happy Ending, Humor, Laughter, Light Angst, Love, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Injuries, Nosebleed, Post-Canon, Post-Season/Series 01, Post-Series, Restaurants, Tension, like very light, this really isn't as dire as it seems
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-28
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2019-01-18 21:13:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12396345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeriamamaduck/pseuds/aeriamamaduck
Summary: Yuuri and Victor's first bad date involves an uncomfortable meal and a potentially broken nose.





	fumbling towards comfort

"Wait, we're doing  _what?"_

 

Yuuri knew he was exhausted but not so exhausted that he would imagine entire sentences out of Victor's mouth. Still, he had to double-check and make sure Victor had actually said they were going out to a restaurant for their date night.

 

Victor started to look mildly distressed in the face of Yuuri's confusion. "Don't you remember? We're going out to eat tonight! I made reservations. You were right there when I called."

 

It took him a few moments, but Yuuri did vaguely remember Victor mentioning some fancy place with lovely ambiance or memorable food, one or the other, and Yuuri agreed that they ought to try it out when they had a night to themselves and no practice the next day. Victor made the reservation and five minutes later they were out the door with Makkachin barking excitedly at the prospect of a trip to the park.

 

He'd put the whole thing in the back of his mind, the days passing by in a blur of practice at the rink and practice with Lilia. It had completely slipped Yuuri's mind, and his face was turning warm with embarrassment because of it. He felt even worse when Victor's face fell. "You forgot."

 

"I didn't!" Yuuri automatically replied, mentally kicking himself when he knew it wasn't the slightest bit true. "...Alright, I did," he admitted, lowering his gaze and feeling more shame than exhaustion at this point. 

 

He winced at the sound of a deep breath from Victor, tinged with irritation. " _Yuuri._ I reminded you last night!" 

 

"Yeah, yeah you did." He really did, now that Yuuri remembered it. He had to admit, though, that he really hadn't been listening closely to Victor, getting through the last few pages of an e-book he'd been wanting to finish for a few weeks and mentally preparing himself for a long day at the rink that would end in a relaxing evening. And indeed, it had been a tiring day, Yuuri unable to boast his usual stamina for once in his life. "Sorry, I've been out of it all week, and it slipped my mind."

 

Victor looked at him thoughtfully, his initial disappointment fading in the face of Yuuri's obvious sleepiness. "Well, you're exhausted anyway," he said. "I'll call and cancel and we can take a rainstorm."

 

"...A what?"

 

"A rainstorm? That expression that means you're postponing something."

 

"It's 'rain check'. And no, we don't have to do that," Yuuri said, getting to his feet despite his reluctance and smiling at his boyfriend faintly. "It's date night, and I did agree to it."

 

Victor gave him a scrutinizing look that was still sweetly sympathetic, and asked, "You're sure you're not too tired?"

 

Oh, Yuuri was tired. But he didn't want to miss what could turn out to be a great evening. Tomorrow was their day off, in any case. Reaching for Victor's hand and watching the ring catch the light, Yuuri asked, "Promise I can sleep in tomorrow?"

 

Squeezing his hand back with a wide smile, Victor replied brightly, "Until noon, if you want to."

 

That guarantee made Yuuri feel a little better. He just had to get through tonight, and at least there would be good food and he'd have a gorgeous man's attention all to himself. Just like all their other dates so far. "Let me shower really quick and we can head out. Suit and tie, right?"

 

"Right. Really, if you're tired-"

 

"I said I'm showering!" Yuuri said over his shoulder, mentally smacking himself awake so he wouldn't fall asleep at the table and make a fool of himself.

 

* * *

 

Yuuri was two seconds away from falling asleep at the table and making a fool of himself.

 

The drone of the conversations going on around him was a little too soothingly hypnotic, and he vaguely wondered if falling asleep to the sound of people talking in Russian would help him absorb the language a little more. It couldn't hurt to try. He and Phichit had certainly tried it several times when they happened to doze off while on a  _Grey's_ binge.

 

Victor didn't look very happy either.

 

Yuuri didn't really want to think about it, but the waiter had made a point of only addressing Victor when they placed their orders, even if Yuuri had carefully practiced his pronunciation and was sure he'd gotten everything right. In truth, the waiter looked generally grumpy and disinterested, and Yuuri could hear the impatient tapping of his foot on the floor. Victor noticed it all, mouth thinning as he dropped his usually genial tone and answered the waiter's disinterest with cold politeness.

 

"That waiter was rather rude," Victor now said, making Yuuri jolt awake slightly. 

 

Damn, this was turning out to be harder than he thought it would be. "Yeah, he was. But I'm sure he's had a tough day," Yuuri said reasonably, concentrating on cutting his steak and not wanting to ruin his meal. He was already on edge because the waiter had delivered their food with as much interest as when one pulled their socks on in the morning. "So you were saying about Yakov...?"

 

He lured Victor into talking about his practice with Yakov, and how he was trying to balance both listening to his coach's instructions and absorbing his coaching style, which was easier said than done, of course. Yuuri was grateful for the amusement that picture provided, but also appreciated how sweet it was. 

 

Still grinning, Yuuri lifted the small piece of steak with his fork, but froze when it was halfway to his mouth.

 

He didn't say anything at that point, his heart beating as familiar, unpleasant emotions started rolling about in his stomach. This was obviously _his_ fault for not speaking clearly, maybe the waiter hadn't understood him, maybe the waiter just didn't like him, maybe he'd been inadvertently rude to the waiter, maybe he was as invisible as he'd always feared he'd been. _God_ , he hated himself for how quickly his throat was closing up and the way he was starting to no doubt sweat buckets in his suit. Before he could stop himself he heard himself softly go, "Um..."

 

Victor gaze snapped to him immediately, brows lifted in attention. "Is something wrong?"

 

"Nothing." He winced at his quick answer. 

 

"Are you sure?"

 

Yuuri was so tempted to wring his cloth napkin, knee bouncing beneath the table in a way that made him self-conscious of the noise it was no doubt making. He bit his lip, looking at the table cloth and feeling his anxiety crawl up his throat. "It's just..." Yuuri practically pushed the words out of his mouth. "I  _did_ say I wanted my steak well-done, right?"

 

Victor looked at him and the steak, confused for a moment before he saw what Yuuri meant, and frowned with displeasure. To Yuuri's horror he started to raise his hand while muttering, "Oh, for the love of-"

 

Yuuri quickly blurted out, "Wait, don't."

 

Freezing in place, Victor gave him a bewildered look. "Why? You _did_ order it well-done. He wasn't listening."

 

He was very well aware of that, and it was bad enough without calling attention to it and further antagonizing their unfriendly-looking waiter. "Please, I don't want a scene," Yuuri said quietly, looking at Victor entreatingly.

 

Victor stared at him in surprise before his gaze flattened and his face froze into a hard mask. "Fine," he said quietly as he frowned slightly.

 

Yuuri flushed, regretting his choice of words and quickly becoming tense. "I didn't mean that  _you_ make scenes, I only meant-"

 

"I know what you meant," Victor muttered, still frowning as he cut his own steak, appearing determined to cut through the plate itself.

 

Well. There went the mood. Then again it probably hadn't been there in the first place.

 

Yuuri stifled the worst of his irritation and, rather than let an angry silence fester between them, calmly insisted, "Please don't eat when you're angry, you might get a stomach ache later on."

 

"I'm not angry," Victor replied, stubbornly refusing to meet Yuuri's gaze and continuing to eat.

 

"You're chewing like you're angry," Yuuri pointed out dryly.

 

He swallowed with a slight roll of his eyes. "And you're an expert on angry chewing?"

 

"I grew up with Mari. She  _invented_ angry chewing."

 

At that, Yuuri watched with a tiny beat of pride as Victor's facade broke and his mouth quirked up in a smile before he started to chuckle softly, tension visibly rolling away. Yuuri felt the knot in his own stomach subside, and he too laughed a little. Victor gave him an apologetic look and reached across the table to take his hand, giving it a soothing squeeze. "I just want you to enjoy yourself tonight, and I don't want anything to ruin our date. Not even rude waiters."

 

"And I appreciate you wanting to stand up for me," Yuuri said, squeezing back. "But I can deal with this...Kind of." He thought he could, but he honestly couldn't shake off that awful sensation of being willfully ignored. Biting his lip he only managed to keep smiling for a moment before frowning in annoyance. He knew it wasn't good to keep it to himself, not when Victor wanted to understand him. "Okay, I won't lie. It bothers the hell out of me and it makes me feel like my Russian is much worse than it actually is."

 

"Which it isn't! You're coming along wonderfully," Victor said, sharing his outrage. "And you're right, I...might have wanted to make a little bit of a scene," he admitted with a tiny pout. "But only because I hate it when people don't show you respect, _miliy_."

 

Hearing it made him feel a little better, but he still didn't feel completely comfortable remaining here much longer than they needed to. "You want to skip dessert?" he asked hopefully as he reluctantly started cutting his meat.

 

"Gladly," Victor replied, taking a long sip of his wine. Yuuri followed suit, wanting to calm his shaky nerves.

 

* * *

  

A different brand of mortification reared its head when the taxi got them home and Victor had to wake Yuuri up. He'd dozed off five minutes into the ride, apparently, and immediately checked that he hadn't been drooling or snoring. He wasn't happy about the amusement in Victor's voice when they made their way up and he asked, "Did you have a nice nap?"

 

"That was embarrassing," Yuuri groaned on the stairs, trying not to think about what the driver must have thought about him falling asleep like he'd drunk more than a glass of wine. "I don't really like falling asleep in taxis."

 

"You weren't alone, Yuuri."

 

"It's still a little uncomfortable." Relieved when they made it to their floor, Yuuri bit the inside of his cheek when he felt the beginnings of a hungry growl in his gut. "I'm still hungry too," he confessed.

 

Victor hummed and nodded in understanding. "So am I. I'll make us some sandwiches or something."

 

"Perfect." Reaching the door first, Yuuri tugged his keys out of his coat pocket. The sooner they ate, had a shower, and got into bed, the better.

 

They slipped from his grasp, landing on the floor with a jingle. "Damn." He bent down to pick them up, not noticing that Victor had done the same.

 

They collided with a sharp thump, both of them crying out in a mixture of pain and surprise.

 

Yuuri immediately straightened, his hand covering his forehead, and felt his stomach plummet when he saw that Victor was covering his nose. "Oh my God! Oh my God, Victor! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

 

"Yes! Yes, don't worry..." When he drew his hand away, blood was streaming down his nose. Yuuri watched it with mounting horror while Victor blinked with mild surprise. "...Oh."

 

Panic flooded Yuuri's brain for the next several minutes, Victor's calm voice managing to break through a couple of times as he scrambled around searching for a first aid kit, tissues, and an ice pack, all while apologizing several times. He kept apologizing as he started to haphazardly dab at Victor's nose, finally noticing that Victor was sitting on the couch in just his underwear, evidently having taken off the rest of his clothes so he wouldn't stain them with blood.

 

What made it all worse was that Victor looked completely relaxed, Makkachin curled up behind him while he pinched his nose and kept his head tipped forward, looking bemused at all the fuss Yuuri was making as he hovered over him anxiously, supplying him with more tissues. "Maybe we should go to the hospital. It could be broken!"

 

"It's not," Victor replied a little nasally. "I didn't hear a crack and it doesn't hurt much. It's already slowed down too. You know you're still wearing your coat and shoes?"

 

Yuuri turned red with embarrassment and proceeded to kick his shoes off and take his coat off, guiltily unable to meet Victor's gaze as he once again started to apologize, "I'm so, so, so sorry, Victor."

 

He started at the soft touch to his face and finally dragged his eyes up to Victor's face, seeing him smile in spite of the tissue stopping up his nostrils. "Yuuri, I already told you it's fine. Nothing's broken and I can breathe. Besides, I bumped your forehead too."

 

"There's a difference. I'm not bleeding!" Yuuri insisted, hating himself for causing Victor any injury. Hell, him forgetting the reservations should've been a clear sign that this evening was going to be a complete disaster. Now Victor was on the couch, nearly naked and staunching a nosebleed that Yuuri had given him.

 

"But I'm not dying either," Victor said, cupping his chin in his hand to keep his skittish stare on him and smiling at him gently. "It doesn't even hurt that much, Yuuri."

 

Nonetheless it still hurt, and Yuuri hated that he'd caused it. "I'm so sorry..."

 

"Come here," Victor said, slowly tugging him towards him, making Yuuri realize just how he'd been keeping himself apart from him. Once the physical barriers were removed, Yuuri let himself relax slightly into Victor's calming embrace, forcing the knowledge of the man's forgiveness into his anxious mind and trying to accept it. "I'm alright, and it was an accident," Victor said into his ear. When he drew away, Yuuri looked at the slight redness in the whites of his eyes, the tiny sign of tears of pain, and the tissues still stuffing up his nose. "I could use some water," Victor confessed quietly.

 

Yuuri was on his feet immediately, still wanting to atone and make Victor as comfortable as possible. "I'll get it!" He then made his way to the kitchen as fast as he could.

 

"Don't run,  _detka,_ " Victor exclaimed with a laugh. "We can't tempt fate twice!"

 

He might have been joking but with the way the night had gone, Yuuri decided to obey and actually slow down before he tripped and broke _his_ nose. It would've been some kind of freaky poetic justice if he had. Returning to the living room with a glass of water, he saw that Victor was still carefully dabbing at his nose while Makkachin kept his dark gaze on him, as though he were assessing his condition as much as Yuuri was. Yuuri handed Victor the glass and asked, "Do you still want that sandwich?" He wasn't feeling too hungry himself, but he did want to give Victor anything he wanted tonight. 

 

"I was going to make them," Victor said with a pout.

 

"I'll do it," Yuuri said, taking a step backward and turning to make his way back into the kitchen. "You sit, and you relax, and I'll..." His voice faded off into a yawn and his body suddenly felt heavy with exhaustion.

 

"You're not going to fall asleep at the counter, right?" he heard Victor ask behind him.

 

"Ha ha ha," Yuuri replied, lightly sarcastic as he started to get everything together. In all honesty it seemed a real possibility, so he kept talking to Victor to make sure he stayed awake.

 

An hour later there were no further incidents, and the three of them were sitting on the couch half-watching the television. Victor, his nose apparently doing fine, and Makkachin had their heads on each one of Yuuri's thighs, his hands on their heads as he finally let himself relax and try to get over the way the night had gone. "Well, that was a failure of a date," he heard Victor say in a blunt, disappointed tone.

 

Yuuri flinched but agreed. Their dates thus far had been wonderful. Yuuri might not have had anything to compare them to, but he'd enjoyed himself for the most part, all because Victor threw himself into making them memorable events. "It wasn't...great," he admitted quietly, thinking about the discomfort at the restaurant and the sour mood that had hovered over them.

 

"It was terrible," Victor lamented, turning himself to look up at Yuuri with a sad expression. "I'm sorry. I wanted tonight to be special."

 

Letting out a soft chuckle, Yuuri replied, "You want every date to be special."

 

"Because you deserve special things," Victor said as he reached up to thumb Yuuri's chin. "I should've cancelled when I noticed how tired you were."

 

That might've been a better idea. "A night in wouldn't have been so bad," he conceded, tracing the outline of Victor's lips.

 

"You really wouldn't mind?" the older man asked, his eyes thoughtful as he gazed at Yuuri. He suddenly remembered of how new this was for both of them, in spite of how their levels of experience differed. It was still new enough that they wanted everything to be perfect, only to realize that something as beautiful and human as what they had couldn't be completely perfect and idyllic all the time. He just wanted them to be together through it all.

 

Smiling tiredly, Yuuri tapped Victor's lips and blushed when the man kissed the tip of his finger. "Not really. Just...being _with_ you is enough, even if we're doing something incredibly boring. At least we'd be bored together." 

 

Victor smiled up at him, open and relaxed. "I guess that does take some pressure off."

 

Yuuri could have kept gazing down at Victor for hours if his traitorously heavy eyelids hadn't chosen that moment to start drooping. He whined and covered his face sheepishly as Victor laughed up at him, reaching up to affectionately ruffle his hair. "Poor sleeping prince. Should we just go to bed?"

 

"Yes. Please," Yuuri replied, gently coaxing Makkachin's head off his leg as Victor sat up. Yuuri got to his feet and leaned into Victor with a sigh, unable to resist smiling faintly.

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr: **aeriamamaduck**


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